Stop Fat-Shaming Chrissy Metz in the Name of "Health"

Sometimes I stare at my rolls in the mirror. I tilt my head from side to side examining each fold and each curve, wondering what it's like to be thin, to be half the size I currently am. I contemplate, Would I be prettier? While size certainly doesn't dictate beauty, it is nevertheless very hard to feel beautiful when we're constantly told that fat figures are undesirable. In fact, according to columnist Linda Stasi, women with bodies that aren't a "normal" weight shouldn't be admired at all — starting with Chrissy Metz.

Stasi’s op-ed is dripping with contempt for Metz’s body — a body the columnist has no right to criticize or shame. Of course, rather than being straightforward about the reasoning behind her scorn, she attempts to mask this disgust with faux-concern for the actor’s health. To Stasi, fat bodies are inherently unhealthy and therefore unsexy. To be fair, she's not satisfied with simply bashing heavy bodies — she includes thinner ones in her tirade as well.

"In real life, those who are morbidly obese and anorexic have eating disorders and body dysmorphia," she writes, seemingly conflating certain weights with mental illness. Neither body type, she claims, should be celebrated because they represent “conditions that can lead to severe illness and premature death.”

“What’s sexy about being in a coma or in a coffin anyway?” inquires Stasi.

Stasi is not a doctor. She’s not privy to Metz’s medical records. Yet, as is the case with any concern troll, Stasi is playing judge and jury on determining what is "healthy" in order to disparage Metz's beautiful pinup shoot — and does so with an argument disproven time and time again. Quite frankly, it's tiring — possibly as tired as the cliché phrases Stasi spouts. (At one point, she mockingly writes, "Fat is the new black," really?)

Here's the thing: Weight doesn't definitively determine how healthy you are, and there's plenty of research to back that up. Multiple studies in recent years have concluded that you can be fat and fit (this one in the European Heart Journal, as well as this one by the American Diabetes Association. Fat people who exercise regularly can be physically healthy, meaning that they don't have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol and, thus, have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease. The reverse has also been shown: People of a "normal" weight can be unhealthy and have a higher risk of heart disease and mortality because they're physically inactive, according to Swedish researchers.

Fatphobic concern trolling under the guise of "I care about public health" is dangerous. That's why Stasi's editorial is so misguided and cruel. She claims her criticism of the photo spread has nothing to do with Metz's weight, yet her entire editorial is staked on the "fat bodies and skinny bodies are innately unhealthy bodies" argument — an argument that can cause incredible emotional, mental, and physical pain, which could threaten a fat person's economic security.

Stasi seems angry that Metz's body is being celebrated at all. At one point, she claims that Harper's Bazaar is exploiting "the 'I love being fat' trend." But this theory is bizarre considering the representation of fat bodies in the media is quite low. Even though the average American woman is a size 14, fat women rarely make an appearance on television, in movies, or on the runway — and it's especially rare to see them alluringly glammed up the way Metz is here.

Without a doubt, these portraits of Metz should be admired for their gorgeous subject (not to mention the excellent outfits, hair, and makeup). Here is this woman who has fought hard for her success despite obstacle after obstacle. Why shouldn't she be praised for her profound and refreshing performance in both This Is Us and this editorial? Stasi may see these photos as an invitation to tear her down, but this silly op-ed can't stop trailblazers like Metz from pushing Hollywood to change.